Alexandria’s shuttered power plant to be razed for retail, green space, art

At the Alexandria, Virginia, waterfront, visitors and residents can find the Potomac River Generating Station, which permanently shut down in the fall of 2012. Since then, there have been ideas for what to do with the approximately 20-acre Old Town North power plant, but nothing has seemed to stick. Now, there are new plans, according to Bisnow.

To come up with these plans, a 21-member committee spent the last 18 months updating the Old Town North Small Area Plan. In the 146-page document, it reads, “The area is envisioned as an Innovation District where the redevelopment of the former power plant site will be a mixed-use development ... which could serve as an economic anchor that can attract creative entrepreneurial and commercial activities.”

For the project, located at 1300 North Royal Street, there are plans to demolish the plant, extend the street grid into the acreage, and add green space and art spaces. Washington Business Journal further reported that the property may also eventually house up to 2.1 million square feet of development with 20 to 50 percent of uses not tailored for residential space. The tree canopy will also be increased, while the waterfront public open space will be expanded by two to four acres.

Before any construction can begin, the land and groundwater will need to be decontaminated.

• Old Town North Small Area Plan [City of Alexandria, Virginia]

• Alexandria Releases Its Development Vision For Old Power Plant Site [Bisnow]

• Alexandria tackles shuttered power plant site in Old Town North plan [Washington Business Journal]

• 25-Acre Alexandria Site May House New 600-Unit Mixed-Use Project [Curbed DC]